Do teenage girls really talk the way Juno does — or is her colorful slang just a creation of the fertile mind of Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody? Honest to blog, we don’t know, but we do know that that voice — snarky, witty, playful, confident — is Juno’s greatest attribute. It’s what gets her through the ups and downs of being a pregnant high-school student, of an adoption process that hits a major roadblock, and of her strained relationship with pal-turned-baby-daddy Paulie (Michael Cera).

Still, as self-assured as she is, she discovers she still has a lot to learn about who she is and what she wants. That makes her seem like a refreshingly real girl. So does Page’s lived-in performance, which makes Juno feel like more than the sum of her cool taste (in vintage alt-rock and gory movies) and her wonderful way with words.